🌗 April Last Quarter Links
"You really ought to be the shepherd of your own attention. You can’t let that be stolen from you." — Brian Eno 🌗
Welcome to the Last Quarter Moon, thought to be a time of release and reflection before the end of a lunar cycle (and our time for linky links here at remind me to love). How is it already the end of April? I hope you’re enjoying whatever season you’re currently in. I am ready for warm weather, returning to my local rec center pool, and riding my bike.
Happy easter, passover and 420 😶🌫️ to all who celebrate. I’ll be back next week with an essay and meditation for the New Moon. Until then, two in person events as well as this month’s links and memes are below.
If you’d like to practice with me in person this year…
Learn to Let It Be: Acceptance & Equanimity for Individual & Collective Liberation (with Kate Johnson, Dawn Mauricio & La Sarmiento)
August 22–24 at Omega Institute
There is so much that is unacceptable in our world. And yet, the first task of change is accepting things just as they are. It's a paradox, and it's a ripe place for practice.
Join us for a weekend of meditation and dharma talks mixed with reflective journaling, nature walks, and music and dance activities. Together we explore "letting be" as the antidote to both unnecessary struggle and resigned indifference.
Register Here for Let It Be
Meditation Party: Reckless Conviviality With Mindfulness Superfriends (with Dan Harris and Jeff Warren)
October 24–26 at Omega Institute
Many of us meditate solo, especially these days. This is a chance to get all of the high-occupancy-vehicle-lane benefits of meditating in a group.
Join self-proclaimed meditation nerds Dan Harris, Sebene Selassie, and Jeff Warren for a weekend “do-nothing” party with lots of meditating. This is definitely not a silent retreat. It is an opportunity to connect with others, move your body, nap, and discover the power of applying your practice to everything in life.
Note: Meditation Party is one of Omega's most popular workshops and will host as many as 425 participants. Register early to secure your seat and housing.
Register Here for Meditation Party
🌗 Last Quarter List 🌗
This interview inside Brian Eno’s studio is full of wisdom made only more powerful by his humility and grace. His statement to “be the shepherd of your own attention” is t-shirt worthy. BTW, I’m still practicing no news before noon and invite you to join me in this powerful protective practice.
I’ve had to postpone any further clown studies because of my hip/leg situation but I’m doubling down on play nonetheless. Some current inspiration:
The brilliant Shira Erlichman exploring play as serious business.
The new novel Playground by Richard Powers. Not as powerful as The Overstory (one of my favorite novels of all time), but still a fascinating exploration of play, AI and our oceans as the ultimate playground (the vast majority of which humans will never know). My favorite line is the title of a book by one of the main characters, Of Course It’s Ocean—referencing the misnomer of calling our planet Earth when it’s mostly made of water.
Bertrand Russell’s 1932 essay In Praise of Idleness: “The idea that the poor should have leisure has always been shocking to the rich.”
I’m excited to work with Marie to bring more play to my creative process.
John Oliver’s piece on Trans Athletes, funny and on point.
The emergency is here… I know most of us are horrified with all that’s going on. But some are genuinely shocked by the current nonsense, asking “But how could this happen?” I suggest watching maybe one of the best documentaries ever made: Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. Um, it’s been happening…
SNL is 50 and I stan Keenan Thompson 4eva. So far this season I’ve loved: this Lady Gaga performance and this one from Lizzo, Emil Wakim’s genius take on American Patriotism (“my life is so good, there’s no way it’s cruelty free” 😭), and whatever this is.
Parker Palmer is now on Substack. ♡
My fellow New Yorkers, please rank the Working Families Party slate for mayor: “This year is not about crawling into our corners — it’s about using ranked choice voting to consolidate the power of our collective vote.
That’s why we’re asking voters to rank ALL candidates on the Working Families Slate to make sure that a Working Families champion is the next mayor of New York City.”
So much sunlight here, beaming off the screen. So much guidance. Grateful!
Just requested Playground from the library this morning! I’m also a huge fan of Overstory. Reading has been my refuge these days as well as meditating outside 💜🌎📚 gives me the energy and clarity I need to wisely choose my battles and get 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻